In 1996, Harry Potter was going down a corridor when Sybill Trelawney came around the corner, shuffling through and reading a deck of playing cards as she walked. Harry ducked behind a statue to avoid being seen, but when Trelawney came to the knave of spades — which she said indicated "a dark young man, possibly troubled, one who dislikes the questioner" while speaking to herself — she stopped right in front of it. However, she quickly convinced herself this reading must be incorrect, and continued on her way.[3]

In 1997, on the night Albus Dumbledore was to die, Harry again encountered Trelawney in a corridor. She told him that she had done several tarot readings, drawing the lightning-struck tower every time, an extremely ill omen. She also remarked that Firenze, who she had consulted about this portent, knew nothing of cartomancy.[1]